Worth it
by you-and-I-we-have-the-stars
Summary: No one had expected Hotsuma to be the biggest contributor at the chairty event, but he is. And he has a damn good reason for this. Written for the First Uragiri contest of the Uraboku-Fan-Club at deviantART. Pairing: Shusei X Hotsuma


Written for: The First Uragiri contest of the Uraboku-Fan-Club: uraboku-fan-club . deviantart . com (remove the extra spaces to use the link) And if you can, join the contest! Everything is accepted. Cosplay, fics, art, photographs, etc. Even older work is accepted so if you don't have the time to come up with something new or lack the inspiration for this, you can still join with one of your already older and perhaps also already published work. I hope to see many of you there and to those who enter, GOOD LUCK! Perhaps you'll walk home with a nice prize ...

Author's note: I tried to write Shusei and Hotsuma in character and I hope I succeeded. Please, leave me a review if you would be so kind and for the rest I hope you will enjoy my entry for the Uragiri competition.

Disclaimer: I don't own Uragiri at all. If I did, Shusei and Hotsuma wouldn't leave the bedroom anymore!

Fic:

**Worth it**

_I'd trade my soul for a wish,_

_Pennies and dimes for a kiss_

_I wasn't looking for this,_

_But now you're in my way (1)_

Hotsuma entered the main hallway off the school and stopped dead in his tracks. A giant crowd of mostly girls had gathered there and they were all pushing and shoving in front of one temporary constructed wooden booth.

Hotsuma's golden eyes travelled over the heads of the mob to the cheerful and girly looking sign that hung above the stall. The booth's purpose was defined on it in written curls and swirls. The dot on the letter i was replaced with a heart and many more hearts in various sizes floated around on the otherwise empty white surface. A pink feathery boa trimmed the boarder of the wooden placard and finished off the ensemble. All in all Hotsuma could only come up with one word for the entire composition … trite.

Golden eyes lowered anew and focused on the excited group between him and the booth. Hotsuma's right hand clenched determinedly around the heavy paper bag in his hand and then he stepped forward, throwing himself into the madness.

Angry and displeased grumbles rose up as Hotsuma pushed himself through the gathered crowd to the front. None of the already gathered people there liked that the blond was trying to bypass them but Hotsuma's reputation at school saved the boy from having to deal with annoying and stubborn students that tried to truly hold him back. Only one time was he brought to a halt by a few flocked together female students. One discontent and challenging look later however from him in their direction and the temporarily brave-in-numbers girls backpedalled nervously away from him and opened up anew a path for him towards the wooden stall.

Finally Hotsuma reached the booth. A quick glance at the schedule, which was stuck on one of the sides of the stall, told him that he had made it just in time. True to the schedule, the three students that had been sitting on a stool behind the wooden counter, stood up and made place for the three new students that were making their way to the booth.

Excited chatter and yells rose up behind Hotsuma's back as the three replacements came in sight of everyone of the gathered crowd. The blond Zweilt scowled darkly in response to the liveliness behind him. His class had at least come up with a decent idea to raise money for charity unlike Shusei's class who had decided to whore out its students and more precisely one student in particular. Hotsuma's scowl darkened further as he thought about how Shusei's class was abusing the brunet's popularity just for their own convenience.

The three replacements had made it to the booth. They each put on the counter in front of them a small reed basket and then took place on the three provided chairs. The reed baskets served for the visiting students to drop in the required money to receive in turn their kiss from the student of their choice at the stall. The black-haired girl in front of Hotsuma looked up at him with a slight blush coloring her cheeks but Hotsuma ignored her in favor for the brunet who had taken place on the middle chair. Without a single regard for politeness, Hotsuma pushed the heavily blushing and stuttering girl who stood in front of the brunet out of the way and took her spot. The pushed aside girl got quickly surrounded by her friends who threw murderous glances at Hotsuma. The blond couldn't care less however. His attention was completely on the boy in front of him.

The brunet's eyes went from the pushed aside girl and her friends to Hotsuma and he sighed. "A gentleman as always when it comes to girls, Hotsuma?"

"Shut up," Hotsuma replied. Blazing golden eyes met the calm green golden ones of the brunet. The brunet released another sigh, recognizing a lost cause when he saw one. An accusation - albeit not uttered by the blond in front of him – lay within those lively golden eyes. The blond boy in front of him was blaming him for the situation they had found themselves in and that had forced the blond to act the way he had just did. However it did raise the question about what Hotsuma was planning to do for the next hour. The brunet however wasn't going to humor the blond so instead of prodding for the reason the blond had materialized in front of him; he just looked up expectantly at Hotsuma, forcing the blond boy to take the first step.

Accepting the laid down challenge, Hotsuma lifted the heavy, brown paper bag and plumped it down on the wooden counter in front of the other boy.

The brunet looked lightly confused from the blond to the brown paper bag. His hand rose and fingered the rim of the paper bag. Golden-green eyes rose back up to meet the golden ones of the blond, seeking permission to open the presented bag and receiving it.

Shusei's attention returned to the sack in front of him and he unrolled the top that closed off the bag. His two fellow students at the booth released surprised gasps as they saw the content of the bag. The brown sack was almost filled to the brim with coins.

Shusei however remained seemingly unaffected by the small fortune in front of him. He returned his attention to Hotsuma. His left eyebrow got delicately raised and he silently asked the blond in front of him what the meaning was behind this. He knew that Hotsuma didn't have at his disposal that much money put aside which could only mean that the blond had sold some of his treasured games to raise this amount of money. But why had Hotsuma done this then? The blond had always claimed that his games were his babies and that he could not do without them. That one week when Takashiro had confiscated Hotsuma's games as punishment because the blond had gotten into a fight with a fellow student on school grounds, had been hell. His partner had nearly burned down the Twilight Mansion in his bad mood. So what had possessed Hotsuma to willingly part with some of his games suddenly?

A proud and satisfied expression came to decorate Hotsuma's face and as he addressed Shusei, he uttered his words loud enough so that everyone gathered in the hallway could hear him. "I'm hiring you for the entire hour," he declared to the brunet.

Behind Hotsuma shocked, surprised, angry and disappointed yells rose up from the waiting crowd. Shusei's two classmates also released anew a small, shocked gasp. But this all didn't matter to Hotsuma. He had done what he came here to do and had succeeded in his goal. He turned on the ball off his feet, wanting to push back through the deflated crowd behind him, but Shusei's question made him stop.

"Don't you want your kiss, Hotsuma? You paid for so many, surely you'll want one at least, no?" the brunet voiced innocently enough but Hotsuma easily picked up on the slightly hidden playful and teasing tone in Shusei's voice. Embarrassment set in and the blond turned beet red in a flash. Angrily he whirled back around towards his partner.

"Quite screwing around! As if I wanna become one of your conquests," he replied hotly.

"Conquests?" Shusei asked lightly confused.

Hotsuma waved hotly around in the air, gesturing at all the girls behind him who had been hoping to steal away a kiss from Shusei.

"Ah," Shusei breathed out. A small, teasing smile came to play around the brunet's mouth. He folded his hands and rested his chin on them. "Are you perhaps jealous, Hotsuma?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Hotsuma replied, scowling annoyed. But Shusei didn't let up. An amused sparkle glistened in his green-golden eyes.

"Then why go to all the trouble of hiring me for the entire hour?" the brunet continued his query.

"What is this?!" Hotsuma sneered out annoyed. "A police investigation? I was just being a good friend."

Shusei raised his eyebrows questioningly, asking his blond partner silently to continue.

"What?!" Hotsuma demanded heatedly. "Do you want to lock lips with half of the school?!"

"It is for a good cause," Shusei calmly supplied.

"Yeah, right," Hotsuma huffed annoyed, his tone of voice clearly betraying he didn't believe a word Shusei had just said. "Whose good cause? Charities or yours?"

Shusei brought his hand up and released a small, amused laugh behind his closed fist.

"What, you bastard?! What's so funny?!" Hotsuma immediately shot out.

"Nothing," Shusei replied, his amusement still present in his eyes that shone brightly and in the boy's facial expression that made Shusei look younger than he truly was.

Hotsuma narrowed his eyes at his friend. He knew Shusei was lying, yet he couldn't figure out why nor was he in the mood to try and corner the brunet into forking up the answer after all. His friend was way too good at these little mind games and he'd probably lose to Shusei without even realizing it. "Yeah, right," he breathed out, making sure his used tone of voice conveyed to Shusei that he didn't believe his friend but would let it go for now. His hand reached up and took back hold off the bag. "If you don't want my money, I'll just take it back."

"And let all your hard work go to waste?" Shusei asked curiously, his left eyebrow slightly risen.

Hotsuma scowled. Why had he ever thought in the first place that buying Shusei's entire hour off was a good idea? Oh yes, cause just the thought of his partner locking lips with the entire female school body made him feel sick to the stomach. Hotsuma released the brown paper bag anew. "Whatever," he huffed, feigning indifference but seeing the amused and knowing expression on his partner's face made him doubt whether he was up to par. _'Damn that bastard of a Shusei,' _he thought angrily. _'Always having to have the last word.'_ But like hell was he going to take the bait and play one of Shusei's twisted mind games.

Hotsuma turned around anew and faced the gathered group of students behind him again. He raised his right hand and gave a casual wave in the air. "I'm off. I'll see ya later." As he stepped forward, the crowd in front of him parted and let him pass unhindered just like the Red Sea had done all those centuries ago for Moses.

Shusei regarded his partner's retreating back for a few moments before his attention shifted to the girl his friend had rudely pushed aside. He walked around the counter and stopped in front the girl. Immediately her cheeks flushed red and as he bent down, gently took her hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back of her hand as a form of apology for Hotsuma's earlier behavior, the girl turned even redder, giving a ripe tomato easily a run for its money. Shusei gave a final, brilliant, polite smile to the girl, apologized a final time for Hotsuma's behavior and then left. The girl stood dumbfound staring after him whilst cradling the hand he had kissed to her chest. The rest of the gathered crowd had also gone dead silent. But then suddenly the racket broke free. The girl's friends crowded anew around the girl, shooting various questions at her, voicing jealous complaints at her and trying to examine her hand. The rest of the gathered female population also released jealous and swooning reactions. Shusei ignored them all as he calmly walked away from the booth his class had erected. But inwardly he sighed, grateful that Fate had prevented a catastrophe to unfold itself. It truly wasn't easy to keep everyone pleased, but as his right hand curled a bit harder around the rim of the brown paper bag in his possession, a warm feeling spread through him. The kissing booth may have been a gamble and a possible disaster waiting to happen, but in the end it had been worth it.

**Extra: The reward? **(2)

_Later that same day during nighttime_

"Shu-Shusei?" Hotsuma stuttered out his best friend's name as he was awoken quite suddenly and found the brunet hovering over him. "Wha-what are you doing here?" he asked, feeling his cheeks color red in reaction to his partner's very close proximity.

Shusei's index finger came to rest on Hotsuma's chin and the brunet hummed as if he were in deep thought whilst he slowly and seductively dragged his finger upwards over Hotsuma's cheek.

Warmth radiated off Hotsuma's face, the blond feeling his blush deepen more and more as he stared at his partner's face. Shusei's long eyelashes, his golden-green eyes, perfect nose, beautiful shaped rose-petal lips … Belated he registered that those lips had been moving and that his partner had said something. "Huh?" he reacted unintelligently, electing a soft laugh out of Shusei.

The brunet brought both his hands up and cupped Hotsuma's face between them. Shusei's long slender fingers played loosely with Hotsuma's blond locks of hair as he made his friend focus on him.

"I said," he breathed out huskily, "that you forgot your kiss today at the stall." Shusei leaned in, the tip of his nose nearly brushing with Hotsuma's. "And after all the trouble you went to," Shusei tilted his head lightly and leaned even closer so that his next words were breathed out seductively over Hotsuma's lips, "we can't have that, now can we?"

Hotsuma swallowed. The tip of his tongue darted out of his mouth and moistened his dry lips. "No," he breathed out heavily, his eyes drooping slightly.

"Then how can we rectify this?" Shusei asked. The boy's tone of voice matched one of a seducer and at the same time of an innocent child who knew nothing about the ways of the world. It was maddening and hot as hell and Hotsuma felt his lower region start to react vigorously. He just hoped Shusei wouldn't look downwards …

"Hotsuma," Shusei whispered anew, drawing the blond's attention momentarily back away of his little problem down south. "Can I," the brunet released a sexy, breathy puff of air, "kiss you?"

Something snapped within Hotsuma. He lost control and pushed himself violently forward to press his lips harshly on his partner's but as he shot forward; he shot wide awake upwards in a sitting position in his bed.

"What the hell?!" Hotsuma breathed out. Why had he dreamt such a thing about Shusei? He had never dreamt off Shusei in this way before so why now?

A proverbial light bulb suddenly went on above the blond's head and he clenched his right hand in a fist. Friggin Shusei. This was all the brunet's fault. What with all Shusei's teasing and fucking mind games … Just wait till he saw his partner tomorrow. He'd let Shusei have it.

But for the moment he had a more urgent problem to take care of …

THE END

(1) Taken from the lyrics "Call me maybe" from "Carly Rae Jepsen". The line "pennies and dimes for a kiss" actually inspired the entire fic.

(2) Inspired by various fics and some art in which Hotsuma dreams of being together with Shusei in a physical way and waking up in the middle of said dream. I was mostly influenced though by this cute comic: www . pixiv member_illust . php?mode = manga&illust_id = 12272686 (remove the spaces to use the link) No idea though what is all being said cause it is in Japanese – if anyone can translate it, thanks a bunch – but Hotsuma sure has a shock due to the dream.


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